Innocent of your blood

Read Acts 20:22-36

Have you ever had any regrets?  Do you have those things that you wish you hadn’t done or perhaps things that you wish you had done but the opportunity came and went?

We have all missed opportunities.  We have transposed the look before you leap counsel and just dived in.

We have done some stuff that we regret.  Maybe it hurt someone.  Maybe it was just stupid.

I remember in high school, my friend had a car with something that looked like a deer whistle on the front of each side of the hood.  I think maybe they had little lights in them or maybe they were just for looks.  I don’t know that part.

One day we were going from one end of the school to the other and most of us were walking.  My friend pulls up and says, hop on.  It was only a hundred yards or so, so I hopped on the hood with my legs hanging outboard.  All went well.  Sure, he gunned it but I was just fine, at least I thought I was.

Little did I know that when I hopped on that car I would have a Hold my beer moment.  I didn’t have any beer but in retrospect, it was a Hold my beer moment. 

We zipped down the hundred yards in no time and then he put on the brakes.  I slid the length of the hood across those things that were sticking up and landed upright on my feet.

I did feel a little something on my right leg.  It was wet.  I had torn my jeans and torn a chunk of flesh out of my leg.  There was some flesh just hanging off of there.  I couldn’t see it very well but I could feel that flesh just hanging there.

I think my friend who was driving about passed out when he got out and looked at it.

Realize that my Hold my beer moment had not yet come.  I put some athletic tape on it to get me home, thinking that when I took it off, the whole thing might stick back together and be healed.  It wasn’t.  That chunk of flesh was still hanging on the back of my leg.  It was hard to see and harder to do what I did next.  I got some scissors and cut it off, poured some bleach on it, and taped it back up.  I probably stuck a cotton ball in it first.

Duct tape, cotton ball, and bleach—now that’s some redneck first aid. 

Who would do such a thing?

Because I was a high school kid who was not going to admit the level of stupidity that preceded the self-inflicted surgery, I did.  I lived but it wasn’t something I would want to do again. 

We didn’t have a lot of money, but my parents did manage to have enough to get me started in college.  Had I told them about how stupid I was, I figured they would have spent that money on a better investment. 

In hindsight, that whole episode was all on me.  From the moment, I hopped on the hood of that car, I knew I should have just kept on walking.  I knew better.

There are other times when we wish that we had done something that we didn’t.  Maybe it was to try out for the track team or ask a girl out for a date or apply for a job.  We see a lot of things that we didn’t do in the realm of confrontation.

Our minds play tricks on us.  Upon examination, This is what I told that guy turns into That is what I should have told him turns into OK, I wish I had the backbone to have said anything at all.  What you say on Facebook doesn’t count either.

I think that we all have regrets.  We are a forgiven people, but we have some things that we wish we had not done.  I have no doubt that God has taken even our worst mistakes and used them for good.  We are called according to his purpose.  We love him, but we also look back and wonder, What was I thinking?

You know what’s as bad, perhaps worse than the boneheaded mistakes that we made?  The ones that we watch our kids make.  We wish that we could genetically pass on our experience.  We do share our experience with them.  We counsel them, but they have to make their own decisions and their own mistakes.  That’s life.

But sometimes, we counsel others or give them what we believe is very sound advice.  We don’t know if they will take our advice or not.  They are the main stakeholder in this equation.  It’s their call, but we might say, Hey!  This is on you.

Pilate after giving in to the crowd and sending Jesus to the cross, washed his hands.  He was saying that he was innocent of this blood.  He was telling the crowd, This is on you.

You don’t really get to do that in something like Pilate’s case where the ultimate decision is yours.  The blood of Jesus was still on his hands even though he didn’t want to own up to it.

But sometimes we have influence in someone’s life.  Children are an easy example, but as Christians we have influence upon the people whom we know and who we work for or work for us.  We have influence on others in every walk of our life.  But what is our obligation to the way they live their lives?

Paul was headed to Jerusalem.  He wanted to get their by Pentecost so he didn’t stop at every place that he had ministered on his way north and west. 

One place that he did not stop was Ephesus.  He had spend about 3 years their and if he stopped by, then an overnight visit would just not be enough.

So he asked the elders to come meet him at the port.  He wanted to visit but he couldn’t stay long so this was the best option in his mind.

It’s interesting, at least to me, that the stop previously mentioned was in Troas where Paul did spend a little time.  On the first day of the week, he gathered believers, they broke bread, and he preached into the night.  In fact, it says that he preached on and on.

One man was seated in a third-story window and fell asleep.  The text says he fell into a deep sleep.  He wasn’t just nodding off, he was down for the count, or worse.

He fell out of the third story window and was found dead.  Paul brought him back to life. 

You might think that would wrap up the service, but no.  Paul went back inside.  They broke bread and he preached until morning.

Paul preached a man to death and after he brought him back—by the power of the Holy Spirit—he went on preaching.

But at this point in the scripture, Paul is headed to Jerusalem but wants a quick visit with the elders at Ephesus.  It’s important.  He probably won’t see them again.  He has been warned that things might get dicey in Jerusalem, but he is going none the less. 

But it is important that he meet with these men.  These are the leaders of the church and his friends in Christ and he won’t see them again on this earth.

But he also has a message for them.  I am innocent of your blood.

What does this mean?

Paul did not hold anything back.  He preached to these people, lived with these people, was an example for these people, and confronted those who attacked the gospel.

He preached in the assembly and he went house-to-house.  He prepared these men to be overseers of the church.  He prepared them to be shepherds.  He gave everything not only to spreading the gospel in Ephesus but in raising up leaders for the church.

Paul was saying:

You lead.

You defend against the attacks.

You take care of the flock.

This is your charge.  I have held nothing back from you.  Take charge and do your duty.  This is yours going forward.  I gave you everything I had to give.

Jesus told his disciples that as I have loved you so you must love one another.  This raised the bar from love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.  Jesus said he gave everything he had for his followers.

Paul tells these elders that he gave everything he had for them, and that he did not expect to see them again on this earth.  These were parting words, but very intentional words.

Paul was very much in the mindset of to live is Christ and to die is gain.  His death might come soon and he was just fine with that, or he might get to continue his mission and ministry.  We know he got to go to Rome after his trip to Jerusalem.

In this particular encounter, Paul used the words I am innocent of your blood.  I did everything I could possibly do to lead you in the way of the Lord.  I am leaving you ready to shepherd the flock.

He was saying, that when he stood before Jesus he could say without reservation, I did all that I possibly could to save those who could be saved, build your church, and bring glory to God.

What an interesting study.  What a nice to know piece of information.  What an insight into Paul’s life as an apostle, but you know I won’t let you off that easy.

When we stand before Jesus, will we be able to say, I gave it all that I had?

I studied to show myself a workman approved ready for every good work.

I stood my ground against evil and was faithful to you and your word.

I became all things to all people so some might be saved.

I put the words of my Master into practice.

I pressed on towards the goal. I never gave up.

Or…

Will we have some regrets.  Will we recall:

The times we could have shared God’s love and grace but did not.

The instances where we sought our own desires above those of our Master.

The half-hearted effort that we put into our Bible studies.

The casual relationship that we had with our Savior and Lord.

The hopelessness we let govern our decisions.

The days we lived without joy because we trusted our own understanding.

The days that we did not live to the full for any and every reason.

We are saved from sin and death.  We will live eternally with God.  We have an incredible inheritance already stored up for us, but will we have regrets?

There are some things in our past that were terrible, hateful, or just stupid.  Those are forgiven, but what about those things in which we persist?

What about knowing that we need to be the salt of the earth, that people should taste God’s goodness every time they cross our paths?  Are we salt?

What about being a light unto the world?  Are we shining his light every day?

What about loving one another?  Is this a way of life for us yet?

Or, do we have regrets?

It is fantastic to be forgiven and loved in the middle of my ignorance and arrogance and outright stupidity.  What a God of love who took all of this into account before he shed his blood for my sins.

When we stand before Jesus, will we be able to say, I am innocent of their blood.

The ones who I saw every day.

The family that lived across the street.

The family that was barely holding on.

The people who were in line with me for what seemed like forever.

The people I never really forgave.

The ones who needed to see your light in me daily.

The ones who needed to hear your wisdom from me.

The ones who needed to see a godly example in me.

The ones who just needed an encouraging word in their struggle.

I often preach Paul’s words about running the good race, fighting the good fight, and keeping the faith at funeral services.  Those are the easy services.

I like to remind us of Paul’s words that say he became all things to all people so that some might be saved.

I think of studying God’s word to the point of being an exceptional tradesman so that I can practice what I read. 

But today, consider, especially in the context of the most important relationships in our lives, when we say goodbye for the last time, will we be able to say, I am innocent of your blood?

Will we be able to say, I truly repented of the ways of the world and followed God?  I gave you the right example.

Will we be able to say, I gave you everything that I could give to bring you to Christ and live as his disciple?

Will we go forward in this time we have on earth without regrets?

From this point forward, will we do the things that if we don’t do them will produce regret in us?  Will we do the things that will let us say to those whom we love most, I did everything that I could to lead you in the ways of the Lord and prepare you for his service?

Will we?

Amen.